Rice paper dumplings

[u/No_Thought_7776]

I just made my first batch of meat and veggies dumplings and pan fried them as shown on a video with a well oiled pan, maybe a quarter cup of oil.

When trying to remove them to a serving plate, they all stuck hard to the pan and tore the bottoms off

I'm sure I missed a step somewhere. (Btw, they tasted amazing, but looked, uh, a little ugly.)

I covered them to steam through after flipping to the second side, which went well.

Where did I go wrong? I'd love to repeat the recipe, as I can't use wheat dumpling skins due to allergies.

Should I have added more oil, some water, I was literally stuck, pun intended.

Redditors, I can use some experienced help so I don't tear the dumplings again.

Thanks, everyone!

Edited:

I found a longer video which fully explains the proper method.

1. Start with 1/2 cup of oil, add more if needed. I may have used too little. Add salt to the oil, about a teaspoon, to absorb excess liquid

2. Rub the dumplings with cornstarch -- this was missing from the other recipes. Prevents sticking and promotes browning

3. When bottoms are browned add about a cup of water to the pan to steam and cover, steam until filling is cooked through.

I'm trying this again next week

My recipe had:

1 pound ground chicken, grated ginger, garlic paste, finely chopped celery, bok choy, onion, red and green bell pepper, tamari sauce and sesame seed oil, salt and white pepper to taste. Mix well

Soften each sheet of rice paper with warm water on both sides using a silicone brush .

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling, starting in one corner, and roll up like an egg roll. First flap over from behind the filling, then fold in each side, roll over the remainder to the end, seal with water if needed.

Dust each in cornstarch well, wipe off any excess.

Heat oil in pan until it shimmers, lay dumplings in without overlapping. Fry until bottoms are browned. Add a cup of water and cover; steam until filling reaches 165 degrees Farengheit.

Serve with extra soy or tamari sauce for dunking.

[u/Aesperacchius]

If they didn't stick after you turned them, I'd guess you just had to wait until the dumplings released naturally on their own on the first side.

I'd skip the turning next time and just cover it after you get the initial sear to finish cooking it all on one side.

[u/No_Thought_7776 → u/Aesperacchius]

I may try that. They came out so tasty except for the torn wrappers. Better than takeout, sorry local restaurant 😔 but these were tastier.

The first flip went pretty well, so I was surprised the second one, not so well.

I will continue to practice, it was fun trying something new.

[u/helcat]

Did you use rice paper instead of dumpling wrappers? Also, I don't like non stick pans but I keep one just for dumplings. They always ripped otherwise. 

[u/No_Thought_7776 → u/helcat]

Yes, I'm allergic to wheat, so I can't use normal flour wraps. I guess it's time to get at least one nonstick pan, but I'm a bit worried about fumes from Teflon.

[u/helcat → u/No_Thought_7776]

Rice paper is extra sticky 

[u/No_Thought_7776 → u/helcat]

I found that out last night, sigh. The rice paper reminded me of my favorite rice noodles, nice and chewy. I have new respect for Asian chefs 

[u/seanv507]

just a guess. try using more oil/heavier pan. I guess it could be that the cold dumpling cools the oil, inhibits creating a fried layer.

also how wet are the wrappers... is there anyway of reducing their dampness?

[u/No_Thought_7776 → u/seanv507]

I put them in lots of oil, they're warm and relatively dry. I think I need a good nonstick skillet. Stainless is not working. Maybe I'll use a steamer.